Meeting Again
by Saotoshi
Summary: It's been two years since Duo's last seen him, and he can't help but think about him as he walks through the park on a cold, autumn day. When will he see the Perfect Soldier again? (Sorry if summary sucks, it's 12:38 am, PG13 for slash kissing; 1x2, duh)


Title: Meeting Again

By: Saotoshi

A/N & Disc: I got bored at 10:17 at night (exactly) and started this. I don't own anything below this unless I say otherwise at the bottom. Which I highly doubt

This is dedicated to those of you who are waiting (patiently or impatiently) for me to update Beware of Strangers. I'm working on it diligently, and I promise you that you will have at least three chapters by August on that. I just have to send said three chapters to my beta (if she's up to it), and then fix all my mistakes ('cause I'm a klutz) and pray that my computer works long enough to post it. In any case, enjoy the story below!

Sao

            Duo walked through the park, lost in thought. It was a cold, crisp autumn day, and a slight breeze played about him, lifting the end of his mahogany braid as he walked alone down the sidewalk. The trees lined on either side of him stretched high above his head; their high reaching branches either bare or filled with multi-colored leaves. Many of those leaves scattered the grass and concrete in a shower of gold and fire, a few cracking beneath the heel of Duo's boots with every step he took. Another breeze blew, lifting his braid completely off his back, and Duo hunched over a bit to protect himself from the cold, wondering vaguely why he hadn't worn more than his leather riding jacket. Hands stuffed into the pockets of his shield from the wind, he continued going where his feet were taking him, his mind on other things.

            It had been nearly two years (not that he was counting) since the Mariemaia deal, and it had been just as long since he'd been with any of his former comrade-in-arms. He knew what they were all doing. He had looked them up regularly, but he hadn't felt that they would want him in their lives now that the war was over. Quatre was the head of a big corporation, and although he was sure the desert prince would give him a place to stay at a moment's notice, the other boy was from a different world than what Duo was used to. He wouldn't have lasted very long before he was ready to jump off the highest building within a five mile radius.

            Trowa, last time he'd checked, had his own show within the circus. The show was becoming widely popular among the colonies, and would be heading down to earth in a matter of months or so. Duo wasn't sure. The last time he'd checked on everybody, it had been early spring, and here it was, mid-October. He promised himself to keep his ears and eyes peeled for anything new on Trowa's show. He wouldn't mind seeing it, even if the two of them had never really spoken to each other or been close. He still wanted to see how the young man once dubbed the Silencer was doing. Probably still as outspoken as ever.

            One certain Chang Wufei was the only one Duo had spoken with in the past year, and that had been only once. The Chinese former soldier had tried to recruit Duo as a Preventers agent, but the self-dubbed God of Death had refused. Duo couldn't imagine working in an office, or as a field agent, as Wufei was. He was the only one Duo couldn't get information on in two minutes flat. It took him somewhere about five to ten, since he had to hack into Preventers' computer systems to get their top-secret files on their agents. Wufei didn't exist to the normal world it was that simple. Although that thought had some appeal to it, Duo still refused to go work for Preventers. He knew that after a while, he'd get sick of field work alone, or he'd have to have a partner for some things, and although he liked Wufei and all as a friend, they'd never worked together, and he often annoyed the Chinese man, even when he wasn't trying. Working with not only a stranger, but also an amateur, did not appeal to Duo. Truthfully, there was only one person he was comfortable working with even if they were ready to kill each other…

            This brought his thoughts to his former partner and Wing pilot, a young man with Prussian blue eyes. Heero Yuy had disappeared off the face of the earth and all the colonies. After Heero's daring and dangerous stunt two years ago, he hadn't seen the young man, although he'd heard that politician Relena Darlian had taken the young soldier to her home where he could recover from his ordeal, Duo thought that the pink obsessed former queen had held the poor 01 pilot prisoner against his will. However, that thought had dissolved not long after, four months since he'd heard from Heero, when he was online.

            Aside from things on the former assassinated leader, there was not a thing to be found on any Heero Yuy anywhere. With the exception, of course, of an online journal Duo had stumbled across. The user's name had been PinkPrincess, and after reading the entry, which had been a confession of undying love for a former soldier and a plea for one Heero Yuy to come to her undying love, Duo had had no doubt who the online journal belonged to. He'd marked the site and checked it at least once every week or so, in case the girl ever found something. She had a knack for it. But she hadn't come up with anything solid, and Duo wondered if he'd ever hear from the Perfect Soldier ever again.

            Duo had spent the past twenty-four months drifting from city to city, state to state, with nothing more than a pack filled with a month's worth of clothes, a laptop for his own personal use to get to "his" bank account, a guitar and his motorcycle. It was all he needed. The few times he'd tried to stay in one spot, he'd found himself restless and bored within weeks. The longest he'd stayed in any one place had been with Hilde for the first three months after the war, and then he'd had to leave. She was in love with him, and completely obsessed. Not in a healthy way, but in a Relena, I'm-going-to-stalk-you kind of way. Duo just didn't swing that way though.

            Ever since, he'd returned to earth and moved to America. He had become somewhat of a vagrant, with one minor thing setting him apart. He owned a flat in New York City, to which he returned to once every few months or so. He rarely stayed there. It was more to give him a mailing address so the others could reach him when they wished to. He'd received Christmas cards or gifts from the other three, and he'd sent things to them in return. Yet, no matter how much he hoped for it, he had received nothing, not even a letter stating they were alive, from the one he did want to hear from.

            It was where Duo was headed now, his flat in NYC. He was doing so earlier this year than usual, but he wasn't sure why. The last time he'd been there was around the time he'd last checked on the other guys, back in spring, and then he'd been off again to see the country. A few days ago, he'd just felt as if he should return, so he'd started the long drive back to his flat. He didn't call it home, because it wasn't. His bike was his home; it was where he spent the most time. The same compulsion that had caused his early return to the Big Apple had urged him to stop at this park as he was driving past.

            The park wasn't nearly as big as Central Park, to which his flat was close to, nor was it as popular, if the number of people currently there was anything to go by. Still, it was a quaint, quiet park and just as beautiful as the famous one in New York. Duo was glad that he'd taken the impulse to stop, and so were his legs, which were glad for the exercise. The former Deathscythe pilot was barely paying attention as he stared at the ground he walked on. Barely did he register the fact that the ground beneath his feet had changed to wood. When he did grasp that obvious fact, he stopped to look around, but when he brought his head up, his eyes met with a pair straight across from him.

            A pair of Prussian blue eyes.

            Duo stared. It was all he could do. His mind was doing a poor job of comprehending the sight before him. For months, he'd thought of this young man, and suddenly, as if out of thin air, he appeared.

            "H-Heero?" It was one word, nothing more than a utterance muttered under his breath, yet either it was said loud enough for the other to hear, or the other just understood from the look in Duo's eyes, because he nodded.

            Cautiously, Duo walked over to what he was sure was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. It took no more than five steps on the wooden bridge they were both on, but it seemed as if each step took a century. It was the longest and the shortest distance he'd ever walked. As Duo lifted his hand, he wondered at the wisdom of what he was about to do. He wasn't sure whether he was ready to see if this figure was just a part of his mind yet. He was afraid of being disappointed.

            His right hand had been in the warmth that the pocket of his leather jacket could provide. Duo was inclined to return it as a cold breeze blew, but the eyes that held his were tormenting him. He needed, yet didn't want, to know if this was Heero, his Heero, standing before him. With only the slightest hesitation, and an unconscious holding of his breath, Duo brought his right hand to the other young man's face. It was warm and solid.

            "Where have you been?" Duo finally managed to ask, although he wasn't sure how long it took him to say it, since he was sure a couple of lifetimes had passed by after his hand had made contact. It was as if the world had stopped moving; time had stood still, yet the two of them continued to move on. He was in shock, yet he was happier than he'd been in two years.

            Heero shrugged. "Around." Never one of many words, something that the Wing pilot and the Heavyarms pilot had had in common, Duo recalled. As if to explain why he was there, he continued, "I was looking out my window, and I thought I saw you on a motorcycle riding past and stop at the park. I wondered if it really was you."

            It took duo a moment to see it, but in Heero's eyes, he saw something and he wasn't sure whether it was a reflection of his own feelings, or if what he was seeing was the real thing. In Heero's eyes, he saw the same feeling of being reunited with another half that he knew could be seen plainly in his own. it was strange to see it so plainly, and vaguely, duo realized that Heero had obviously adjusted to not being a soldier in the past two years. He wished he could have been there for the process.

            "You live around here?" Duo asked, blushing slightly as he noticed that his hand was still on Heero's cheek. Reluctantly, he put his hand back into his pocket. Unconsciously, he shivered again as another wind blew.

            "Yes, very close, actually," Heero confirmed, indicating an apartment complex a stone's throw away with a nod of his head. "Do you want to go in? You look cold."

            Duo nodded, and Heero turned to lead the way, Duo falling in step behind him. Before they'd gotten far, Heero stopped, took off his white down jacket, and threw it over the shoulders of a surprised violet-eyed young man before continuing as if he'd done nothing out of the ordinary. For a moment, Duo was rooted to the spot, staring after Heero who now wore only a gray, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his jeans. Quickly, he brought himself back to the present and caught up to the ex-soldier. They were nearly the same in height, Heero being the taller of the two by an inch or so.

            Heero lived on the top floor of a very nice building, complete with a door attendant. He greeted the fellow with a nod of his head and a suggestion that he stand inside so as not to catch a cold before continuing in. Duo followed him to the elevators and down the hall after they got off to the biggest apartment on the floor. That fact didn't surprise him, and he smiled at the fact that some things about Heero were so predictable, even after so long.

            The interior was nicely down, all of it done in white or blue with mahogany furniture. It felt lived in, and the laptop, papers and the open book on the coffee table in the living room added to the feel. Heero went into the kitchen, saying something about hot chocolate, as Duo looked about. On the sill of one of the windows was a black mug. Duo went over to it, looked out beyond the glass, and saw that from there, he could see where his motorcycle was. Heero had seen him, perfectly, and left what he was doing to go down. The insight warmed him. Duo hadn't even realized he'd been standing there for more than a few minutes until he felt fingers on his shoulder.

            "Here," Heero said, handing him a cup of hot chocolate. He left Duo standing there and walked over to the white couch, the sound of his movements muffled by the blue carpet. He took a seat and watched Duo drinking his warm drink for a while.

            Duo wasn't sure what to say. There were so many things he wanted to know and ask, so many things he wanted to say to Heero. He didn't know where to begin. It was such a muddled mess in his mind. Instead of trying feebly to sort it out, he opted to continue sipping his hot chocolate silently, completely aware of the eyes that were trained on him.

            "I missed you," Heero said, barely above a whisper. The friend he'd known as Shinigami had been at the forefront of his thoughts for as long as they'd been apart, and as he grew into this new life outside of war, he found that more than anything, he wanted Duo around him. They'd been together many times during the war, forming somewhat of a friendship, if one could call it that, and from that, Heero's feelings had changed. He'd tried to see other people, wondering if perhaps it was only his new awareness of his own emotions, but no one compared to the braided young man standing in his living room.

            Duo wasn't sure he heard right, and he set the mug in his hands down next to the one Heero had abandoned only a little while earlier. He didn't want to cause a sticky mess on the immaculate blue carpet. He looked at Heero, searching for a sign on what exactly those words had meant.

            Heero stood and walked back over to where Duo still stood, Heero's jacket still around his shoulders.

            "I talked to Quatre a few months ago, and he gave me the address he always sent things to you. He said that you were always drifting, though," Heero said, speaking more at once than he usually did. Duo remembered the few times Heero had spoken so much at a time, but still, it surprised him. He didn't interrupt, wanting to know what the other had to say. "I tried to get a hold of you, but couldn't. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I never would."

            "Why would you want to find little old me?" Duo asked, grinning and shaking his head. He honestly wanted to know what reason Heero could possibly have to try to find him. "I'm sure you had better things to do."

            Heero was quiet for a moment, just studying Duo's face. "I wanted to find you."

            Duo took off Heero's jacket, and his own. "Well, that may be so, but you sure didn't want to be found. You disappeared completely. I've been keeping tabs on the others, but you. I didn't even know if you were still alive."

            "So you looked?" Heero asked.

            Duo didn't meet his eyes, returning his gaze to the park below. "Yeah," he mumbled. As if needing to explain himself, he turned back to look at Heero, his mind dimly speculating on whether his words were the best thing to say. "I love you, Heero Yuy, and I've been wondering forever where you've been. I missed you, too."

            Duo's heart felt as if it would stop as the silence after his words dragged out. Heero's eyes were staring straight into his, but he made no move and said nothing. Duo had the urge to just leave, but those eyes held him in place.

            Without warning, Heero grabbed Duo and kissed him. His mouth was soft on Duo's, gentle and caressing, and Duo found himself going limp as Heero's arms went around his waist. He was sure this was all a dream and that in a few seconds; he would wake up in a ditch on the side of the road and only to find that he'd dreamt it all after getting in a crash or something.

            Heero was the one who ended the kiss, touching his forehead to Duo's. "I'm sorry. I was trying to adjust to everything, and trying to keep Relena away from me. I didn't talk to any of the others either until recently and that was only because I couldn't find you, Duo. I've been miserable, wondering if perhaps I lost my chance."

            Moving his head back to look at Duo it seemed Heero was trying to commit the other boy's features to memory. "Duo, you've always known that I wasn't good with the feelings thing, and I can assure you, I've not improved much. But I do know that what I feel around you is different from when I'm around anyone I've ever met, during and after the war. I'm pretty sure I love you too."

            It was sappy, and not perfect, but Duo loved it all the same. He wanted to record this moment and then watch it repeatedly for the next hundred years of his life. Then again, he thought as Heero kissed him again, he wouldn't mind doing this for the next hundred years either. Winding his arms around Heero's neck, Duo ran his tongue across Heero's lips. He would have never imagined that so much would happen in so little time. He didn't even want to imagine what could have or might have happened if he hadn't stopped at the park that day. If Heero's words were anything to go by, the other had been on the verge of nearly giving up (though he couldn't imagine the former Perfect Soldier ever doing such a thing), and they might have never met again.

            The last coherent thought Duo had as Heero's tongue met his was he was glad he'd always been one to follow his impulses. Meeting with Heero again was heaven.

A/N: It's now 12:32 in the morn, and I've finished this. That's about two hours and…fifteen minutes or something. So if the ending kinda sucks, sorry, I'm sleepy. I was tempted to just leave it at the part in the park where it says, "A pair of Prussian blue eyes," but I thought that might be cruel. Was it a mistake to continue? Should I have left it? You let me know. After all, I'm being nice enough to post this right after it's done. Doesn't that count for something?!

Sao****


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